Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Trojans Established as the Team to Beat

Can Florida repeat? According to the offshore book Pinnacle Sports, the team to beat for the 2008 Bowl Championship Series title is USC. Pinnacle made the Trojans a 5-to-2 favorite (win $5 for every $2 bet) when it posted odds last week. Michigan, the Trojans' opponent in the Rose Bowl, was second at 13/2. Then came the Gators at 7/1, followed by Texas at 10/1, West Virginia at 14/1, Louisiana State at 15/1, Oklahoma at 17/1 and Arkansas at 19/1. Other opening odds: Ohio State 28/1; Nebraska 38/1; Auburn 46/1; Notre Dame 47/1; Rutgers 52/1; Louisville 52/1; California 67/1; Brigham Young 67/1; Georgia 73/1; Tennessee 99/1. Teams listed at 100/1: Wisconsin, Miami, Florida State, Wake Forest, Boise State, Georgia Tech, South Carolina, Clemson, UCLA, Texas Christian and Hawaii. As a sidenote, Pinnacle announced shortly after it released the odds that it would no longer accept clients located within the United States. This appears to be a response to a crackdown against online gambling by U.S. authorities that started in July with the arrest of David Carruthers, chief executive of Bet On Sports, a publicly traded company in Britain. Carruthers remains under house arrest at a hotel in St. Louis, pending a trial later this year. Two months after Carruthers' arrest, Peter Dicks, a former chairman of Sportingbet PLC, was detained in New York. ... Thanks to Image of Sport for the shot of USC mascot Traveler.

I don't understand it. If anyone can bet on horse racing, why is it forbidden to gamble over the Web? In my opinion, the US anti-gambling law is outrageous! Betting at online casinos as 888 casino, casino tropez etc. is much more enjoyable than horse racing. Don't you think?